Kuwait Petroleum restarts Rotterdam slack wax production after outage

LONDON (ICIS)--Kuwait Petroleum’s Rotterdam refinery will return to normal production from 20 January, a company source said Wednesday.?xml:namespace>

The refinery complex, which initially began a maintenance turnaround on 1 October 2013, is expected to begin on-spec slack wax production imminently.

“We are in final stages of starting up… it’s waiting for on-spec [slack wax] to come out, which could be any moment. First loading [expected] on Monday,” they said.

The firm’s outage – combined with other refinery problems in northwest Europe – contributed to tightness in the local slack wax market in late 2013, but low demand for slack wax in the new year has ensured good availability and low prices for active buyers, despite Kuwait Petroleum’s ongoing problems.

One trader said: “Talking to customers... I also see a good level of price for their situation: reduced prices due to the fact there’s availability. And some refiners are having difficulty selling the product they are producing.”